School Suspends Girl for Having Red Hair

When Oklahoma teen Sarah Bonacci dyed her hair red, she didn't think there would be an issue when she went to school at Emmerson High School the next day. Even though her school's dress code bans unnatural hair colors like bright red, blue, pink, and purple, she didn't think the shade of red she chose (a burgundy red) was extreme, so how could it be a distraction.

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But she thought wrong. When she arrived at school with her new, red hair, she wasn't even allowed in the building. "They told her to leave because her hair color was not a natural color," her mother, Vanessa Tucker, told News Channel Four.

Sarah called her mom crying after being confronted by administrators, which prompted her mom to call the assistant principal to see what the problem with Sarah's hair was. "He told me she was not allowed on school property with her hair the color it is," Vanessa said. "He told me that he would go around to her teachers and tell them she is not allowed to get her school work until she gets her hair changed."

According to the assistant principal, Sarah's hair color was "Ronald McFonald red," but Vanessa completely disagrees and doesn't think the color isn't a distraction or unnatural. "I don't think the color of a person's hair should matter whether they are able to get their education or not. I could understand if it were blue or green but it's red, more like burgundy, not like Ronald McDonald, how he referred to it," Vanessa said.

Even though some people believe rules are rules and they should be followed, apparently the Oklahoma school district is willing to reconsider when it comes to red hair. In a statement, a district spokesperson told News 9, "The district has conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident and determined that Emerson's policy regarding dyed hair will be administratively reviewed." It has also been revealed that Sarah will be allowed to return to school effective immediately, though she had to miss three days.

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While it's great that the district is reconsidering their policy on red hair, Vanessa's mother still wants this incident to be erased from her daughter's record. "She shouldn't have been counted absent, she shouldn't have been absent because of her hair color," Vanessa, who says she just wants her daughter to be able to graduate and get her education, told News 9.